Winter Stars
by The Lonely Star Destroyer 217
Summary: Hamuko goes on an adventure to find a present for Akihiko with a new friend.


**Something small for someone I love. And because presents that cost money are overrated. Hope you smile!**

**Merry Christmas or whatever you celebrate!**

* * *

Hamuko sighed repeatedly as she looked out of the greyed windows, encrusted with frost from her favourite demon's cold breath. It most likely isn't the one that you're thinking of, Jack Frost but rather a demon named Raiho.

He was much more powerful than his Jack Frost counterpart and looked more sophisticated with his detective cosplay and police hat. Those differences appealed to her much more, but she was quickly beginning to realise that she was getting side-tracked. Unfortunately for Hamuko, it was quite the normality.

Now that it was getting into the colder parts of winter's grasp, the snow became heavier by the hour. It was approaching Christmas Eve and well, Christmas in its entirety. Of course, Hamuko was excited by it. Christmas Eve was definitely one of the happier times of the year and a needed respite from the events that had occurred recently; Ryoji's revelation and Ikutsuki's betrayal just to name a few.

Of course with Christmas on the way, there was also the expectation of gifts.

And that was what made Hamuko so jittery. Hamuko had been able to keep close the fact that she hadn't the time or ideas to get her boyfriend, Akihiko, a gift for Christmas. It was something that had been troubling her far more than any kind of Shadow or enemy; after all, what kind of person didn't get a present for the person they loved on such a special occasion. It was truly horrifying, that thought, and greater than any amount of Fear that a foe could hope to inflict on Hamuko.

But from anyone else's point of view, anyone who had known what she was thinking and feeling would have told her that she was thinking too hard about something as simple as a small gift, and that she should take things easy. But, Hamuko couldn't. It was Akihiko she was talking about. He might've been obsessed with protein drinks, training and was blunt or clueless a lot of the time, but under all of it, he was the sweetest guy that she had ever met.

She laughed slightly as she thought about how easy it was for him to bring a smile to her face. Just by thinking about him, he did. Akihiko made it so pathetically easy for her to blush when she was under pressure too. However, for Hamuko it was easy for her to do the same. Unfortunately (or fortunately) for Akihiko, Hamuko was an expert at stunning him.

And once again, she had been getting off track. It happened too often for her to consider it a good thing.

Right, she was supposed to be thinking of a present for Aki-kun. Hamuko kept looking out with a sigh. However, she wasn't looking at what was beyond the glass; she was looking at the window itself. That was how uninspired she was.

Was there anything? Anything at all? Well… she did vaguely remember him saying before that he liked pancakes at least. She wasn't completely sure when or how, but she did. Maybe she could do something along those lines. She wasn't a bad cook, so it was an option.

And yet, there was something to that idea that made it seem… empty. At least, emptier than she thought it would have been. Was it just not enough? Or was Hamuko just an overachiever when it came to people that she cared about? That option felt as if there was something much more… she could do more than just making some pancakes, right?

"Damn," she mumbled, wracking her brain for any other ideas.

In her thoughtful state, she almost didn't notice the faint sound of knocking against glass. It couldn't have been the window rattling, since there wasn't any wind. So, what could it have been? Could it have been something in her room? That very thought was eerie.

Things that lurked inside like spiders… sent shivers down Hamuko's spine. Even just seeing one creep in the corner of a hallway or bedroom, or even… her bedroom, god forbid. It was the worst feeling. She'd never know if that spider was going to do something like in the movies where they literally crawled into the victim's ears or something, and crept through the orifices in that person's fa—

No! Stop thinking about that! You'll just get yourself more creeped out than you need to be.

Hamuko was still mystified by the sound. There was just something that she couldn't put her finger on, and it didn't make her scared; it actually gave her a strange sense of happiness. She wasn't scared at all. Confused and perplexed, yes. But fearful? No. Perhaps it was that feeling of having no fear that should've scared her instead…

She reached out to pull the window frame open which was much colder than usual. Her fingers slipped underneath a small ledge and lifted the window open. It was just enough to let oozing cold air wrap around her fingers.

It was a cool, stagnant kind of cold, like the kind that you felt when your hand was placed inside a fridge; it didn't hurt or numb your hands after a short while, and at the right temperature it could be considered pleasant.

But of course, she wasn't to linger on how some cool air felt. She was supposed to be finding out what was making that sound but the sound had disappeared. She still couldn't be sure though, so she opened her window all the way up, finding the snow dusted streets and rooftops and a few frigid winds coiling into her room.

Hamuko poked her head outside and looked around, finding that nothing was there except for the overcast sky and the snow that fell from the clouds high above. After a few moments, she raised an eyebrow and shut the window with a sigh. It looked like there wasn't anything there.

"That was weird," Hamuko mumbled as she returned to her seat. Not to mention pointless.

"Yup! It sure is weird ho!"

Huh?

Who was that? And for another matter, who says 'ho'? Wait… there was something different about that voice. It was too playful and high pitched to fit in with any representation of Santa Claus that she could remember. It sounded more like a young boy's voice in fact. She turned around slowly, still wondering who it could possibly be.

Behind her, she found none other than…

"Raiho here!" the detective dressed Jack Frost introduced himself, pulling a salute to the police hat that sat on top of his head. "But uh… do you know what I'm doing here ho? I was doing work, hee ho!" he asked with a chipper voice. Huh. Maybe he was happy to get out of work or something?

Hamuko shook her head dumbly. She felt a storm of emotions brewing inside her: a combination of surprise and the urge to hug him because of the adorable-ness that he exuded. But she had to resist. She wasn't quite sure that the little snowman would be very appreciative of being hugged to no end.

"Well, better just figure out why I'm here," Raiho said with an excited tone. "Do you have a problem, hee ho?"

"Um…" Hamuko started, not really knowing where to start or whether she should tell the demon anyway. She had only just met him after all. But then again, he did ask, so maybe it was okay for her to say. There were a number of other things that she wanted to ask Raiho about as well such as how long he was going to stay, if he was planning to. Another thing to ask would be whether he had any idea why he was summoned to her room. Bah, she was getting side-tracked again. "Well… I was having a problem thinking of a present that I wanted to get for someone…"

"A present ho? Someone special ho?" Raidou asked. If Hamuko didn't know any better under that perpetual smile of his, it almost felt like he was smirking at her. But she shrugged it off. That couldn't be it, could it?

"Yeah, it's… someone dear," Hamuko smiled slightly as she thought about Akihiko.

"You know, your cheeks look so hot I could melt just by touching them ho!" Raiho chuckled, laughing at Hamuko's now bewildered expression. "You get embarrassed heesily!" he smiled, spinning his way into Hamuko's lap.

"What?" Hamuko blinked and her cheeks turned redder than before, but more from embarrassment.

Raiho just turned around and looked up with a grin. What with the perpetual smile that Jacks had, and by extension, Raihos, had, she wasn't too sure. "See hee? It's very easy, ho!"

Hamuko deadpanned at Raiho before sighing and standing up with a determined expression. "C-Come on, let's just get going!"

"You're funny, ho," Raiho laughed slightly as he hopped off Hamuko and into the air. "Let's go then ho!"

…

"So, what were you thinking of getting him first, ho?" Raiho asked as he kept his pace behind Hamuko and bounced around in the cold air like a kid in summer. Hamuko briefly wondered whether he was actually that happy all the time; she couldn't really tell anything because of his smile, and the only thing that she draw anything from was his tone.

No one else could see Raiho as he floated through the air, so if Hamuko wasn't careful, it could look like she was talking to herself. Raiho was nice enough to tell her that piece of information, even though he would've never considered telling anyone else about why no one could see demons before. He wondered about why he did, but eventually he had chalked it up to her being cute and just left it at that.

"Well… I thought about making him some pancakes since he likes them a lot, but I felt like it wasn't enough," Hamuko sighed as she pulled up her scarf. She was never too fond of cold weather and was more of a spring and summer person. But alas, those seasons had left already.

"Aw, really ho?" Raiho laughed. "It's nice of you to think a lot about it."

"I guess, but I still haven't come up with anything else… and I still don't think it's enough," she explained.

"Hamuko-chan, I don't really think this is something you need to think about too much, ho!" Raiho exclaimed, landing in a pile of snow and scattering a few wet crystals around. "I think that this Aki guy, whoever he is, would just be happy if you were with him! It isn't as if Christmas is just about giving people gifts and stuff, you know, ho?" he said as he hopped off the snow and back into the air.

"But I still don't think it's enough…" Hamuko said stubbornly as she walked into Paulownia Mall.

Raiho looked up at Hamuko with a curious expression before shrugging it off and going along with what she wanted to do. She was pretty stubborn… With that thought, he hopped through the doors after Hamuko.

There were quite a few people around. While Japan wasn't that big on Christmas celebrations, the night before was important to a lot of couples. It was kind of like Valentine's Day and White Day but on Christmas Eve. It was pretty hectic to say the least.

Hamuko definitely wasn't the only one fretting about it.

Hamuko looked around at the different shops, promptly avoiding the fashion and brand name stores of that nature, seeing as it wasn't really Akihiko's thing. If it were up to him, he'd probably just be wearing a t-shirt and shorts all the time just so he could train more. Hamuko knew him well enough to know that if he wanted to get clothes, he'd get them himself. Instead, she went to Shinshoudo antiques. It was also a gift shop so maybe she could find something there.

"Huh, why do I feel something coming from that shop hee ho?" Raiho asked as he bounced ahead in front of the store's door and looked up. "There's mana and stuff coming from all over heere!" he exclaimed, waving his arms about.

"It's probably because of the Nihil Fusion," Hamuko mumbled. That was right, the very same Nihil Fusion that she used to make weapons. Oh the great lengths she went to obtain the Evil Gloves… That was horrifying. She was never going to fuse Mara again.

"Hm, let's go inside ho! Se-heems interesting ho!" Raiho said cheerfully.

"Alright then," Hamuko said, opening the door.

"Hello?" Hamuko asked as she stepped into the antique shop. It was quiet, yet stirring with energy.

"Oh, Hamuko-san. Do you need something?" the mysterious shop owner said as she stepped out from the back room and put her glasses on. "Another gift for someone?"

"Yeah… but I don't know what to give him this time," Hamuko admitted with a sheepish expression.

"Hm, I see… who is your little friend there?" she asked, pointing to where Raiho was floating.

"You can see-hee me?" Raiho said with a touch of wonder in his voice. He was quite intrigued for another human could see him. The unbeknownst fact was that people that had the potential or were at least aware of the Dark Hour were able to sense demons.

"Yes," the shop owner nodded. "Where did you find him Hamuko-san?"

"Um well, Raiho was just… mysteriously summoned here or something like that," Hamuko explained shakily. She didn't have much of an idea why Raiho was summoned or why he was there. Perhaps it was to help her, but she wasn't all that sure.

"Interesting," the shop owner nodded. "Raiho, do you know how you were summoned here?"

"Well, actually, now that you mention it, I remember seeing a really, rea-hee-lly bright light, and then I was poofed heere!" Raiho exclaimed. "It was all weird and then I found heeself outside her window, ho!"

The shop owner nodded in understanding.

"Would you happen to have anything with you that you didn't have before?" she asked Raiho.

How she came to that conclusion was a mystery to both Raiho and Hamuko, but considering how curious the very nature of the store was, and the more mystifying shop owner, Hamuko just let it be.

"Me-hee?" I dunno, I haven't checked my super awesome pockets, ho!" Raiho exclaimed. His eyes widened as his fingers grasped something- he didn't know what -in his pocket. He pulled said item from the pocket and presented it in his open palm.

"What's that?" Hamuko asked as she looked the small test tube over.

"Isn't that a Kuda?" Raiho asked excitedly. "Kinda like Raidou's ones, ho!"

"Kuda?" Hamuko raised an eyebrow. She had never heard of this 'kuda' thing before.

"They can keep demons inside, hee ho!" Raiho explained quickly. "But uh… I kinda don't know what it's doing heere."

"Unfortunately demons aren't my area of expertise. I only know about Persona," the shop owner said before walking to the back of the store. "I think though, you have what you need."

"Dunno what Pers-hona things are, but I wanna open it!" Raiho chuckled, "Can I?"

She wasn't quite sure what was going to pop out from that little test tube, but if it was something dangerous, she was confident that she could handle it. "Sure Raiho-kun," she replied.

With an almost giddy expression, Raiho popped the cap from the tube and watched as the mist formed…

"Aw, there isn't a demon ho," Raiho said slightly disappointed.

"But uh… what's that?" Hamuko asked, looking at the plushie. "I didn't know that these… Kuda things could keep plushies inside them too."

"I didn't either, but apparently they can ho?" Raiho said sceptically before he picked it up from the floor. "Wow, it looks just like me-hee!" he said cheerfully.

"A plushie that looks just like you?" Hamuko laughed. "Wow… It looks amazing…" she said, marvelling at the complete likeness of it to the Raiho in front of her. She was starting to remember why she loved Raihos so much. There was something about the police hat atop its head that made it look so much more dapper than just a plain Jack Frost. For her, the touch of sophistication from a Raiho's attire made them just that much better.

"What do you mean by that, ho?" Raiho asked curiously.

"Well, it looks just like _you_!" Hamuko said. "Raihos are just so cute, and that is even better," Hamuko giggled.

"Hee-you like Raiho?" he said, with that perpetual grin of his growing even wider. If it was even possible. But Hamuko was pretty sure that it was.

"Yup! You look a lot better than Jack Frost," Hamuko replied.

"Someone likes me better than Jack Frost, ho?" Raiho said with an incredulous tone as he stared up at Hamuko.

"Someone likes me-hee more than Jack Frost!" Raiho cheered, bouncing happily about on his boots.

Hamuko still wasn't too sure why Raiho was so happy about being liked more than Jack Frost, but that happiness of his made Hamuko smile even wider than before. Even if she didn't know, she could just feel happy for him and laugh about it.

"Hamuko-chan, you look happy too, ho!" Raiho noted as Hamuko started grinning. She hadn't exactly been smiling the whole time that they were together, presumably still thinking about that 'Aki' guy of hers, but seeing her that happy was really cool to see.

"I guess I do!" Hamuko laughed a little.

"You should smile like that more often, ho!" Raiho chuckled.

"Eh?" she said with a surprised expression.

"You should! I think that Aki guy would be-hee happy seeing you happy too!" Raiho exclaimed. "Wouldn't that be cool, ho?"

Hamuko blinked, thinking about it. Wait, wasn't she looking for a present so that Akihiko would be happy?

"It would be great!" Hamuko laughed.

"Here!" he said as the Raiho doll was shoved into her grip. "If you have that, won't hee-you be happy? Then Aki guy can be happy too, ho! You don't need anything to make him happy ho! Just be your happy self and hee'll be happy too! I think that'll work ho! What do hee-you think?"

Hamuko nodded dumbly, looking at the Raiho doll with wonder. "Yeah… I think that'll work," she smiled, thinking about it.

"Cool ho! Then, you don't need my help anymore ho! Think you'll be-hee okay on your own!" Raiho said with glee. "See-hee you later?" he asked.

"See ya later Raiho," Hamuko said as she grabbed the frost demon into a quick hug before letting go. "Thank you!"

"See ya Hamuko-chan!" he grinned before disappearing in a puff of snow.

…

The snow drifted to the ground and settled silently on the ground. The day had been like that for a while and Akihiko had just been spending the hours away exercising outside. When he came back from training, he found that there was a mysterious note slipped beneath his door with only the words 'meet me at the roof.' Akihiko could guess who wrote it from the handwriting.

What did Hamuko want?

He found Hamuko standing in the middle of the roof, watching as snowflakes fell to her feet.

"Aki-kun!" Hamuko laughed as she ran up to him. She had her hands behind her back, as if she were hiding something…

"Hamuko… what did you call me up here for?" Akihiko asked.

"Just wanted to give you something," Hamuko said, trying to keep a straight face.

"But why now and not on Christmas?"

"Why not?" she shrugged before Akihiko chuckled. Hamuko was spontaneous as ever.

"Alright then. What is it?" he asked.

Hamuko shoved into Akihiko's grip the Raiho doll that she had gotten from Raiho. "I know, it's not really your thing, plushies, but I couldn't think of much else," she smiled nervously.

"What are you talking about Hamuko?" Akihiko laughed turning the doll so that he could see its face. He felt that there was something familiar about the detective-cosplaying Jack Frost that he was holding but Akihiko eventually shrugged it off. "It looks great," he smiled.

"Ehe, glad you like it Aki-kun!" Hamuko smiled brightly.

Akihiko blinked. He hadn't seen Hamuko this happy before and smiling so vibrantly. Just seeing Hamuko smile like she did sent his heartbeat fluttering just seeing it. It was contagious. He couldn't help but be happy with her. This was one of, if not, the best moment of his life (besides the time when Hamuko said that she would be his girl).

Hamuko hugged Akihiko close and captured his lips in a kiss. "I love you Akihiko," Hamuko said quietly as she broke off, looking deep into his silver eyes.

"I love you too…" Akihiko replied, looking back into hers.

_They spent a long time together…_


End file.
